Developers who want to take advantage of Nokia's cross-platform application and user interface framework can now access the latest release candidate.

Qt is designed to let developers write and deploy applications across desktop, mobile, and embedded OSes without rewriting source code. The Qt SDK 1.1 Release Candidate is now available for download, Nokia said in a blog post on Thursday.

The new SDK (Software Development Kit) is based on version 4.7 of Qt and allows users to develop for both smartphones and desktops using the same software. Previously they had to use separate versions, according to Nokia.

Digia plans to push Qt on desktops and embedded systems, where the company sees the biggest potential commercial growth, a spokesman said when the deal was announced.

As part of the deal, 3,500 desktop and embedded Qt customers will be transferred to Digia.

Nokia is also in the process of moving the development of Qt to an open governance model.

The Qt SDK is available to download for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Nokia isn't divulging when the final version will be shipping, but said that the release candidate is "a major step" towards the final version.